The Tissot Superpole session for the FIM Supersport World Championship was a tightly-contested affair at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) claimed his first WorldSSP pole position at the venue he took his first Moto3™ win at in 2018 for the Motul Spanish Round as he edged out Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

SETTING THE PACE

Oettl was quick on Friday in Jerez and he continued that into Saturday’s Superpole session as he posted a 1’41.798s to claim the first German pole position in WorldSSP since Sandro Cortese at Brno in 2018, his lap only just shy of the all-time lap record set by Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing). Aegerter claimed second position in Jerez on his return to WorldSSP after missing the Catalunya Round, while Caricasulo took his second front row of the season and his best result in Superpole since his pole position at Estoril.

JUST MISSING OUT ON THE FRONT ROW

Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) will lead the front row off for both races after taking fourth place, 0.248s away from Oettl, while Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) will line up fifth, missing out on fourth place by just 0.013s. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) will complete the sixth row after a strong showing as the sole MV Agusta rider in Jerez.

COMPLETING THE TOP TEN

Championship contender Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) will lead away the third row with seventh place, hoping he can strike back against Aegerter in the races and close the Championship gap, while Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will start eighth and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth despite a Turn 6 crash late on in the session. Debutant Stefano Manzi (GMT94 Yamaha) took a top ten spot in his first WorldSSP Superpole session, with teammate Jules Cluzel in 12^th.

TO NOTE

Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) just missed out on a top ten starting spot with 11^th on just his second round since returning to the Championship ahead of Cluzel and Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) in 13^th, while Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) was the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider in 14^th place. Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) rounded out the top 15 as his recovery from injury continues.

Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) just missed out on a top ten starting spot with 11^th on just his second round since returning to the Championship ahead of Cluzel and Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) in 13^th, while Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) was the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider in 14^th place. Estonian Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) rounded out the top 15 as his recovery from injury continues.

Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) managed to set one flying lap during the session but crashed at Turn 1 in the early stages, forcing the Spanish rider to take stock before he re-joined the session to bring his Yamaha machine back to the pits; eventually securing 18^th place. Martin Vugrinec (Ferquest – Unior Racing Team) crashed with around three minutes left in the session left, qualifying in 25^th, while Öncü crashed at the same corner shortly after. Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was forced out of the session after the Indonesian rider crashed at Turn 10, eventually qualifying in 24^th. Following the crash, Pratama was declared unfit for the Saturday’s action with suspected concussion. He will undergo further checks and assessments during the day. Billy van Eerde (IXS-YART Yamaha) crashed at Turn 12 in the closing stages of the session, taking 27^th on the grid.

The top six following WorldSSP Tissot Superpole, full results here:

1. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1’41.798s

2. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.036s

3. Federico Caricasulo (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) +0.166s

4. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) +0.248s

5. Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) +0.261s

6. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) +0.658s

Watch WorldSSP Race 1 in style from 15:15 Local Time (GMT+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!